Chaparral Wisdom
To celebrate the magic and beauty of Nature & the chaparral
Where is the Outrage? Thousands of Families are Devastated by Fire, Authorities Ignore Their Cries
The drum beat about dead trees in forests many miles away from communities most at risk from wildfire in California has become so loud that it has drowned out the screams of the families who have lost so much.
Why?
The short answer is most likely related to money. Who benefits?
But first, some history.
We have been involved in fire policy since the 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego County, the 273,000 acre wildfire that marked the beginning of the California’s new era of catastrophic mega fires. The creation of the California Chaparral Institute was sparked by the irrational response to the fire by local politicians and radio talk show hosts, falsely blaming both firefighters and Nature for the devastation.
Getting Out of Our Heads, Into Our Hearts, Back Into Nature
The California Chaparral Institute exists to help everyone better understand and appreciate the chaparral, California’s dominant and iconic plant community. Our ongoing battles to protect nature requires activities like sending in comment letters concerning ill-conceived habitat clearance projects, attending public hearings, negotiations, and ultimately letting adversaries know that we are more than willing to go to court — and we win. But we have come to the realization that our victories are only temporary, and they will be back at it again. Why? Because there is a systemic problem within our hearts that has not only separated us from Nature, but from each other.
This separation is evidenced by the general response to the 2017 wildfires. Despite the massive losses of life and property, the post-fire response has been similar to all the other past fire events – conferences where the usual players talk at each other without creating solutions, sanitized after-action reports, calls for more clearing of habitat, logging forests far from where our families have been devastated by wildfires, and repealing environmental protection laws, etc. People in authority are unwilling to tackle the difficult problems – land use changes, planning, creative approaches to reduce the flammability of homes and communities from within. For example, the city of Santa Rosa is ramping up more building in the same devastating fire corridor.
Yet, rather than being discouraged, recent realizations have inspired us to change the way we see our mission as advocates for Nature. If we intend to really make a difference, we must go straight to the heart. We discovered through our research on nature centers in Southern California that what matters most to the public is not the content on display, but the enthusiasm of the people who are eager to share their love for Nature.
Alpine View Point – Field research: impact of frequent fire on chaparral (Part II)
Being inspired to discover the truth can come from many directions.
Our current field research study has been stimulated by a recent claim that frequent fire had not harmed a particular patch of chaparral we are very familiar with – below the history-rich Alpine View Point overlook off Interstate Highway 8 in San Diego County. Our motivation recalls Thomas C. Chamberlin’s insightful paper back in 1890. He wrote,
“To be sure, truth may be brought forth by an investigator dominated by a false ruling idea. His very errors may indeed stimulate investigation on the part of others.”
– Thomas C. Chamberlin, 1890
So alas, down into the canyon we plunged this past weekend, with GPS gear, 50 meter tapes, recording journals, and a lot of water.
